Podcast Summary: Maximum Lawyer

Episode: The Secret Psychology Behind Emails That Get Opened

Host: Tyson Mutrux
Guest: Jay Schwedelson
Date: December 2, 2025

Episode Overview

This engaging episode dives deep into unlocking the psychology and tactics behind email subject lines and marketing strategies that actually get your emails opened — and acted upon. Tyson Mutrux sits down with email marketing expert Jay Schwedelson, founder of Subjectline.com, to break through myths, reveal surprising data-driven insights, and discuss strategies for law firms (and any professional marketer) to create email campaigns that deliver real-world results.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Power of the Subject Line

• Focus on the Beginning:
  • Most people only read the first few characters of your subject line before deciding to open or ignore.
    • “Literally what you put, what the first word is, what the first character is…is more important than anything else you’re going to do with the email.” — Jay (01:48)
  • Starting with a number or a capitalized word can significantly boost open rates.
    • Numbers at the start improve open rates by 20%. (01:48)
    • Fully capitalized opening words also stop the scroll.

Myths About Spam Triggers

• Content vs. Engagement:
  • Contrary to popular belief, words like “free,” exclamation marks, or emojis do not send your emails to spam — engagement does.
    • “You don’t go to the junk folder or spam folder because of spammy words…It has to do with more technical stuff…You stay in the inbox by getting a lot more opens, a lot more clicks.” — Jay (03:16)

Promotions Tab & Email Deliverability

• The Promotions Tab is Not the Enemy:
  • Fewer than 30% of users have the Promotions tab activated, and 50% of those check it daily.
    • “When someone clicks on the Promotions tab, they’re in there looking for promotions and things they can engage with.” — Jay (04:50)
  • No drop in performance for emails in the Promotions tab. Not worth trying to avoid it.

The Enduring Value of Email

• Email as Owned Media:
  • Email allows you direct contact with your entire audience—unlike rented channels like social media.
    • “Email is the cockroach of marketing. It will never die. It will outlive us all and it’s the most valuable asset in your business…” — Jay (06:23)
  • As AI provides more answers within platforms, website traffic is dropping, further raising the value of a robust email database.

The Role of Unsubscribes

• Unsubscribes Are Good:
  • High open rates can correlate with increased unsubscribes—often because your message finally got noticed by people no longer interested.
    • “In order for people to be into you, you have to also turn some people off. If you’re trying to be for everybody, then you’re for nobody." — Jay (07:54)
  • Unsubscribes do NOT negatively affect deliverability.

Subjectline.com: Tools & Strategy

• Idea Starter, Not Gospel:
  • Use subjectline.com as a way to experiment—don’t “go all in” on one tactic that works.
    • “What you want…is an arsenal of tactics that you’re rotating through…if you do the same tactic every single time, it won’t work, right.” — Jay (09:51)

Driving Emotion in Subject Lines

• First Person Calls to Action:
  • Rewriting CTAs in first person (“Yes, count me in” vs. “Register”) improves click rates by over 25%.
    • “Instead of register, it would say, yes, count me in…write things in first person on your call to action buttons.” — Jay (11:50)

Vanity Metrics & What to Track

• Open Rate is Directionally Useful:
  • While open rates are inflated due to bots and privacy changes, comparing them across A/B tests is still valuable for gauging whether tactics work.
  • Don’t rely on “last touch” attribution—true performance comes from overall engagement.

Testing & The Dangers of AI-Generated Templates

• Constant Experimentation is Crucial:
  • “Whatever you test now…it may not work in six months, which is why you always have to be testing.” — Jay (17:26)
  • AI-generated content uses repeatable language, which quickly becomes invisible (“wallpaper”) to recipients.

Conference Promotion & Virtual Event Strategy

• Guru Conference:
  • Free, virtual, high-energy event for over 25,000 email marketers. Earned on-demand model: you must attend live to access replays.
    • “Our show up rates are over 70% because of that.” — Jay (18:00)

Practical Tactics and Trends

• White Space in the Inbox:

  • Use a super-short subject line and no pre-header to create visual white space—emails stand out and open rates rise by 25%.
    • “Your email visually stands out massively…open rates go up by over 25% just by not doing something.” — Jay (19:37)

• Holdout Tests:

  • To measure true marketing impact, hold back a segment of your database from all campaigns and compare opportunity creation.
    • “It will give you a view on the totality of how your marketing is doing.” — Jay (21:27)

• Database Growth is the True North:

  • Focus on quality database growth. Natural attrition (bounces, unsubscribes) shrinks lists by 20% per year — replenishing is vital.

Frequency & Relevancy for Law Firm Emails

• Send More, But Vary Timing & Content:
  • “Frequency is tied to relevancy…You need to send out things that have no agenda for you.” — Jay (25:39)
  • Don’t always email on the same day or time—vary to reach different audience segments.

The Future: AI & the Atlas Browser

• ChatGPT’s Atlas Browser & Email:
  • “I think there's going to be a fundamental change to how we are corresponding and interacting with people because of the Atlas browser and what's coming.” — Jay (27:53)
  • Recipients will be able to automate replies—so expect a shift toward more conversational, response-driven email strategies.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Jay on email’s resilience:
  • “Email is the cockroach of marketing. It will never die. It will outlive us all.” (06:23)
• On open rates:
  • “It’s almost like a Gallup survey on your marketing tactic.” (13:33)
• On unsubscribes:
  • “In order for people to be into you, you have to also turn some people off. If you’re trying to be for everybody, then you’re for nobody.” (07:54)
• On change and nostalgia:
  • “The big mistake [infusionsoft] made was getting rid of the conference, changing their name…” (21:06)
• On white space tactic:
  • “When we've been doing this, we're seeing our open rates on those emails go up by over 25% just by not doing something.” (19:37)

Key Timestamps

• [01:48]: What makes a great subject line? Numbers, capitalization, and the importance of the first word.
• [03:16]: Myths about spam triggers; why “spam words” aren’t your issue.
• [04:50]: Promotions tab—why it’s not a problem.
• [06:23]: The staying power and growing importance of email.
• [07:54]: The value (and myth) of unsubscribes.
• [09:51]: Using subjectline.com for diverse, rotating tactics.
• [11:50]: CTA language and increasing clicks.
• [13:33]: Vanity metrics, open rates, and directional insights.
• [17:26]: Testing tactics and keeping things fresh.
• [18:00]: Guru Conference and earned on-demand content.
• [19:37]: The white space/pre-header tactic.
• [21:27]: Holdout testing to measure true marketing impact.
• [24:26]: Database growth as the top metric.
• [25:39]: Email frequency and the importance of relevancy.
• [27:53]: Future of email and the impact of the Atlas browser.

Final Notes

• Jay Schwedelson’s resources: Subjectline.com, GuruConference.com, EventTastic.com, JaySchwedelson.com
• Connect with him or check out his podcast, Do This, Not That.
• Tyson wraps up commending Jay’s energetic, data-driven approach and encourages listeners to attend Guru Conference and implement these proven strategies.